Bills
Reserves Bill 2025
Second reading
Resumed from 1 May.
Hon Sue Ellery (South Metropolitan Region) (3:00 pm): I want to make a few comments about the Reserves Bill 2025. It is a small bill about reserves. I will talk about the bill itself in a moment, but I think it is important to take note of the work that we have done on a suite of environmental matters since we have been elected to Parliament. I will make some comments about that tonight. Sometimes it is easy, I think, in the hurly-burly of the environmental debate to lose sight of all the things that we as a government have done since 2017 to contribute to making Western Australia's environment stronger and more sustainable into the future. Although this bill will do very specific things and is about a very specific element of reserves in Western Australia, it is part of a much broader suite of environmental measures that this government and the first McGowan government have undertaken, and I want to talk a little bit about those things.
Class A reserves are important because it is the highest form of protection—as the second reading speech tells us—of pieces of land that fall within the purview of the Land Administration Act. Making significant changes to the actual footprint of class A reserves themselves requires the authority of both houses of Parliament, and that is why the bill comes before us. I am going to digress momentarily because class A reserves have been getting a bit of attention in metropolitan Perth recently. One class A reserve in particular falls within the geographical area that is the responsibility of the City of Nedlands. It has been an extraordinary debate to watch unfurl. Members would be aware that there has been a dispute over a proposed parkland on a site that the Perth Children's Hospital Foundation, I think it is called, has sought to build a first-class hospice for terminally ill children. It will be the first of its kind in Western Australia. The dispute is also about what is going to happen on the piece of land immediately next door to where that building will be. The debate has been extraordinary. The City of Nedlands has been at the forefront of saying that it is not an appropriate site for a children's hospice. The proponents are seeking to improve the little bit of land next to it so that the kids and their families can have a pleasant outlook rather than what is there now. People need to remind themselves of what is there now. It is not pristine; it is a very dusty and underwhelming piece of land. I have found it most astounding that in the public debate that has been conducted about that reserve, the Mayor of the City of Nedlands has said that her opposition to building a place for children who are going to die and their families is rooted in her values. That is the language she has used. It is astonishing to me that she is protecting, advocating for and standing on her values by saying that that piece of land, because it is not an A class reserve, is of itself far more important than any benefit that would come for children whose lives are limited and their families. I do not see what set of values a person could possibly have that would consider it a breach of any set of values to put a hospice on that site. I know that the proponents of the children’s hospice have been shocked, but they have just got on with their campaign, which, of course, has the support of the majority of Western Australians. I say that as a sidepiece. I do not think that is acceptable and I reject the “values”—in inverted commas, for the purposes of Hansard—that could possibly endorse the campaign that the City of Nedlands is spearheading against using that site for a facility for children whose days are numbered and their families.
However, that was an aside. Obviously, there is a connection because it is a reserve. Most importantly, the bill before us forms a piece of the suite of measures that our government has put in place since 2017 to ensure that the environment in Western Australia remains sustainable. The purpose of the bill is to amend various class A reserves and some other conservation reserves in order to give effect to a key government commitment to end commercial large-scale native forest timber harvesting in South West forests and to correct some historical operational inconsistencies in the way that land has been used and managed.
The bill will give effect to a policy to create a new class A reserve, and that land is an undertaking from the protecting our old-growth forest policy and was originally proposed in the Forest management plan 2004–2013 and then carried forward after that. It is important to note that it is part of our Plan for Our Parks and a suite of other measures. From a conservation perspective, there is much to be gained by ensuring that we protect Western Australia’s incredible land. Our conservation footprint across Western Australia includes eight of Australia's 15 national biodiversity hotspots and an array of unique flora, fauna, culture, landscapes and ecosystems that are, of course, under constant threat, whether it is from climate change, habitat destruction or a range of other human-induced impacts. Since 2017, the Western Australian Government—certainly previous Labor governments did this as well—has taken deliberate decisions to both counter those threats and establish a policy model that can be applied elsewhere in Australia, which has indeed been copied, and around the world. At the core of the policy is to achieve by 2030 the protection of at least 30% of the state's land and marine areas so that we are making our contribution towards achieving that on the global scale. That is the Towards 30 by 30 framework that the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity agreed to in 2022. We have taken positive and deliberate decisions to give effect to that. In 2019, as other members have noted, then Premier McGowan announced the Plan for Our Parks initiative, which was aimed at expanding our national parks to add an ambitious five million hectares. To put that in some perspective, it is nearly 20,000 square miles. It is a huge amount of land, covering both marine and marine areas. That is underscored by trying to preserve our unique landscapes and biodiversity and has set a new benchmark for conservation across Australia. Since that announcement was made in 2019, the state has declared almost three million hectares of new national parks, marine parks and conservation reserves under that initiative, and more will be added to that.
The creation of more national parks is indeed an investment in Western Australia’s future, not just because those parks are a sanctuary for wildlife, and I want to talk a little bit about the other stuff that goes on reserves. It is about job creation, ecotourism and diversifying our economy. It is also an act in itself of reconciliation, because an important part of how the land is managed is through the policy decisions made by our government to ensure that traditional owners are deeply involved in the management of those lands. As I said, the commitment is to five million hectares of new national parks, whether they are marine or other conservation reserves, over a five-year period; a 20% increase in WA's conservation estate; 29 proposals for new parks and reserves; and hundreds of millions of dollars to be spent in establishing those reserves.
As I said, Western Australia is home to a vast array of unique native flora and fauna, including some threatened species. Some still dispute this, but climate change is increasing the pressure on our natural environment. It is getting hotter and the heat is lasting for longer. Sea levels are rising and rainfall patterns are changing. This is not just the normal variations of the weather; there is a marked shift in the temperature of the planet. That presents a growing challenge for how we manage our parks and reserves, because that growing impact of climate change poses real threats to our biodiversity and to the habitats of local species. People might be aware of what is going on right now in metropolitan Perth, and that is that they are hearing less of the magpies. That is a real issue and another example of how we need to pay attention when our environment is sending us clear signals that something is not right.
The Plan for Our Parks policy has built on decades of relationships with Aboriginal people and approaches to government from traditional owner groups that want to be involved in the creation and management of parks and reserves. Part of expanding the conservation estate to help safeguard our biodiversity and habitats is about what we do to enhance vegetation by restoring landscapes and providing carbon sequestration opportunities in new areas of the conservation estate. We consider the importance of the natural ecosystems in how we adapt to climate change, including with carbon sequestration and local climate regulations—so balancing microclimates by using vegetation and water bodies to have a really practical effect on the living conditions of local flora and fauna. There is the issue of how we deal with water, so water cycle management, to make sure that we maintain water availability and quality by reducing run-off and preventing and tackling soil erosion. Lots of smart farmers are doing lots of smart work to achieve that. We are enhancing biodiversity and resilience by providing food and habitat for wildlife, as well as creating natural barriers to the impact of those weather events I talked about.
Working closely with traditional owners is also an important part of our policy suites. How we develop and implement the Plan for Our Parks is a measure of how well we respect the rights of traditional owners and our obligation to ensure that we give them every opportunity to protect the land that is such an integral part of who they are and their culture. We can only learn from that. The Aboriginal Ranger Program that takes place on many of our existing reserves is a key part of that. I will talk a little bit more about the Aboriginal Ranger Program.
When we added another, I think, 6,000 square kilometres of national park in May 2023 in and around areas of the East Pilbara with the Martu people, it was a combination of nearly two decades of collaboration on a once very degraded piece of pastoral land. Now jointly managed by the Martu people and the government, the park is home to 133 endemic bird and 20 mammal species, along with one of Australia's biggest threatened animal transplantation projects. There is further work to be done to protect those areas and to make sure we take the critical action needed to keep the area sustainable in the future. By creating more national parks WA is showing its commitment to both the natural world and those who rely on it.
In my opening comment I said that this is a small bill, but it is just one part of a suite of environmental measures that the government has put in place over our two terms to date to protect our environment going forward. There are things like rebates for home solar batteries, increasing the uptake of renewable energy, our commitment to net zero by 2050 and retiring the state-owned coal-fired power station—being the first government to do it—to reduce our state government's carbon emission by 80% by 2030. There is the Plan for Plastics, and I note that Hon Dr Sally Talbot referred to that in her valedictory speech. Ending the logging of our magnificent South West native forests is a major achievement of this Labor government. We introduced Containers for Change, and I will talk a little bit more about that in a moment. I am sorry that the Leader of the House is not here because his work in implementing Containers for Change when he was Minister for Environment was outstanding. We have done clean energy upgrades in WA public schools across the state. More than 50 community-based groups have benefited from more than $7 million worth of small grants to enhance WA's natural environment. Some of the best work that we see in our local communities is that done by locally based environmental groups, like those in my patch of the world who work on the Canning River. Many local environmental groups across the state are doing fantastic work. We are implementing our nation-leading electric vehicles network, one of the world's longest electric-vehicle charging highways. We are increasing our urban canopy, with more than $1.6 million in grants to help local governments plant thousands of trees throughout the Perth and Peel regions. We continue to help schools throughout WA to avoid creating and to recover waste, again, with grants and the WasteSorted Schools funding program. We continue to support innovative climate solutions with grants out of a $4 million fund for organisations that can develop technologies to help remove, reduce or offset those hard-to-abate emissions created by industrial processes. It is a fantastic example of a government that says, "Of course we need industrial progress, of course we need jobs, of course we need to make sure that we are building and making things in Western Australia, but we also need to reward and invest in companies that can innovate to help us manage the consequences of the emissions of those industries." We are increasing funds for e-waste storage, collection, recycling and processing throughout WA as part of the second round of our E-waste Infrastructure Grants Program. The Pilbara's largest wetland will be protected through the creation of the Fortescue Marsh Nature Reserve.
It is worth reflecting just for a moment on the policy that we took to the electorate in 2001 to protect our old-growth forests. That was a seminal piece of work by the Labor Party, and it was hard, because the people who worked in the industry of cutting down those trees were Labor members; they were members of unions affiliated with the Labor Party. It was a hard piece of work led by Geoff Gallop to get to a position at which we could make that commitment, knowing that we were saving old-growth forests but also that we were providing to the workers who had been doing that work for so long dignity and a fair way to transition to other jobs. Wellington National Park in Collie–Preston was a key beneficiary of the work to protect our natural environment. That park now covers some 25,000 hectares, protecting high-quality jarrah and marri forests and important habitat for a range of threatened and priority species.
If I can just reflect for a moment on the most recent federal election, when I was on the pre-poll in Swan during the election campaign, a woman who recognised me came up to me. She said that she wanted to say thank you and to congratulate me. I assumed that she was talking to me because lots of people still think that I am the Minister for Education and lots of people have very kind things to say to me about that. But that is not what she wanted to congratulate me for. She wanted to congratulate me for being part of Geoff Gallop's government—it was fitting that I was in Swan when she said that because she remembered Geoff as her local MP—and to thank me for the policy commitment that he made to save old-growth forests. It is important to recognise that people still value those key marker policies that are hard work. She still recognised Geoff. She loved Geoff Gallop, and I was just able to reflect in his glory, and she wanted to make it known that she really valued that work.
If I can just digress again for a quick minute, one of the interesting things that happened in the federal election campaign was the debate about nuclear energy. I note that it reared its ugly head this morning in some debates that were happening on the east coast about relationships between various parties. A lot of things happened in the most recent federal election campaign, but I do not think it would be right for the Nationals WA to assume—this is what I heard one member say this morning—that because of all the other things that were being talked about at that election, the message was not that Australians did not want us to go down the path of building seven power plants, because I think it was part of the message. It was not just about messaging and how a policy was sold. I think people thought about it and went, "No, I don’t want a part of that." Anyway, we will see what happens with the so-called split this morning—whether that is a divorce or a trial separation. We will see whether it is a temporary decoupling or a permanent decoupling, but I think some reflection on whether it was a smart policy is required at that level.
That is a neat segue. Part of the other work that we are doing is around energy transition. In last year's budget, some $500 million was allocated towards cleaner, affordable and reliable energy for Western Australia. There was $502 million for WA's cleaner and affordable reliable energy future, $324 million to support the expansion of our main electricity network to drive industry growth and clean energy and $147 million to develop the common-user electricity network infrastructure in the Pilbara. When those things are added up, it takes it to a more than $5.4 billion investment in energy transition. These are significant investments. Although people might think the Reserves Bill 2025 of itself is one tiny little piece of legislation, it is part of a suite of measures that we take great pride in delivering to make sure that our environment continues to thrive. That investment builds on the more than $4 billion that was committed over the past 12 months to unlocking a cleaner, affordable and reliable energy future through investment in wind, battery systems and the electricity grid.
Other new investments in last year's budget include $18 million for the deployment of 50 standalone power systems in Esperance and the Mid West, $7 million to rebuild the Blackstone remote community power station and $4.5 million to buy existing power station assets across the Kimberley. In addition to the Plan for Our Parks and the forest management, which I have already spoken about, there were major investments in last year's budget to upgrade vital water infrastructure and to bolster water security. All of those are continuing to expand our conservation estate—the biggest expansion in history. Starting site works on our third desalination plant in Alkimos is part of our commitment to the environment. There is $30 million to strengthen regional bushfire management in national parks and state forest, $3 million to continue the implementation of the native vegetation policy, another $3 million to support the protection of Cockburn Sound, $2.7 million in additional funding to understand the impact of climate change on our water resources and just over $1 million in resourcing to support the Kimberley flood response and repair the river monitoring stations that were damaged by Tropical Cyclone Ellie.
I also want to touch on Containers for Change. I am sorry that Hon Stephen Dawson is not here, because he should be commended for that project alone. I am reminded on a very regular basis about the importance of Containers for Change. There are two boys who live across the road from us who are about 13 and 15. They like to collect containers, and that is how they make their pocket money. I know that lots of kids do that, but it is also really important for the organisations that use that as a way of raising funds. That scheme started on 1 October 2020 as part of our commitment to increase recycling, reduce litter, provide benefits for community groups and charities, and create employment opportunities for a whole range of people. It is one of the ways that many community organisations use to fundraise and spread the message about recycling. By the end of July 2022—given that we are now in 2025, the figures would be even better—more than 1.5 billion containers had been recovered for recycling and more than $5 million had been donated to nearly 5,000 community groups and charities that are registered with the scheme. The scheme has been an effective tool for increasing resource recovery and recycling. There has been an incredible increase in the rate of recycling from the pre-scheme baseline of some 34% to 61% by the middle of 2022. The recycling rate continues to increase, and I am sure it has increased significantly since then.
I want to touch briefly on one of the important pieces of activity in our nature reserves—that is, the Aboriginal ranger program. This program has had more than $100 million allocated to it. The program aims to help Aboriginal organisations to manage country and protect the environment across the state. It involves community organisations and Indigenous communities particularly in the North West, but not just in the North West, and the public and private sectors. The funding is available for Aboriginal rangers, whether that is for training or community development, as well as research, tourism and other expansion activities. The important part of the Aboriginal ranger program is that the programs are led by Aboriginal people. It began in 2017 with some 35 ranger programs and some 28 partner organisations, but it continued to grow. It has been reviewed and an evaluation has been done on the success of the program. On so many key markers it has shown itself to be incredibly successful because it has achieved on social, cultural, environmental and economic outcomes, with the creation of jobs and ecotourism in particular. It gives young Aboriginal people—they are not just young—involved in the ranger programs real skills and they leave with certificates—real qualifications—that set them up for other jobs. They gain confidence, because there is nothing that generates more confidence than being successful in your work. The kind of work involved is biodiversity monitoring and research, understanding traditional knowledge, fire management, cultural site management, feral animal and weed management, cultural awareness for visitors, guided Welcome to Country tours, and management of visitors and tourism assets as well.
Finally, Hon Dr Sally Talbot mentioned in her valedictory speech the ban on plastic bags. Again, I remind people that the reason I am talking about things that they might think has nothing to do with reserves is because reserves by themselves are just one part of a suite of measures that this government has put in place. We led the nation in action on plastic waste through our Plan for Plastics. Hundreds of millions of plastic bags, cups, plates, cutlery, straws—to the chagrin of some—and containers have already been prevented from being littered or landfilled. There is huge community support for this and these measures saw widescale and unprecedented behaviour change in WA. The then Minister for Environment announced a commitment to reduce election advertising waste as well. Much to the joy of my husband, bunting was no longer around at recent federal elections. I do not know how that balances against corflute. I suppose corflute is a bit more recyclable than bunting was. I can say here today that my husband Peter invented and built two prototypes of a bunting, cutting and rolling machine. Broomstick handles were utilised in its making, and once several candidates saw Peter Shuettpelz's bunting, rolling and cutting machine in action, they asked him to make them for their campaigns as well. But that has become redundant, because bunting is no longer in use. It is also important to support businesses that are captured in the reduction of single-use plastics. Enormous support has been provided for them as well.
This is an important piece of legislation, but it is a small piece of legislation. It is one part of the suite of measures that this government has put in place to ensure that the Western Australian environment continues to thrive and to be around for generations to come.
Hon Dan Caddy (North Metropolitan Region—Parliamentary Secretary) (3:34 pm): Before I start, I want to pick up on something Hon Sue Ellery covered a fair bit of ground on that I was going to cover. One of the really important things when it comes to this bill and what the suite of other bills also represent is to reflect on the legacy of successive Labor governments. Hon Sue Ellery talked about or mentioned Hon Dr Geoff Gallop and his principled stance on protecting old-growth forests. It is important to remember that because that was some time ago. I do not want to put a year on it; Hon Sue Ellery may know the year.
Hon Sue Ellery: It was 2001.
Hon Dan Caddy: It was during the government of 2001. It shows that this is a trajectory for Labor governments. I acknowledge the complementing policies. Like I said, I will not go through all of them—it was a path I was going to go down, but Hon Sue Ellery covered them well—but it is important to realise that this bill is small, but one of a much larger suite of policies such as the energy transition policy, the Plan for Plastics, Containers for Change, the Aboriginal ranger program and many others that Hon Sue Ellery mentioned.
My good friend Hon Pierre Yang has already spoken on this and he went through the bill in quite some detail, bit by bit, listing exactly what it is and what it does. I will go on more of a journey, because the importance of national parks and reserves can probably be best demonstrated through a bit of a virtual road trip, which is probably the best way to describe it. I will go through some of the main points up-front before I get to that. The Plan for Our Parks, which other people have spoken about, is critical. We stand in this place and we say this plan will create X number of jobs; this will create X number of hectares. We are talking about five million hectares of new national parks. It is a number that we hear, but we do not know what that is. It is 80% the size of Tasmania. It is the size of Slovakia. It is a significant area. Obviously, it will not be all in one hit. There will be new and expanded parks from the Kimberley in the north and across the rangelands of Western Australia. There will be some through population centres Perth and Bunbury and to the south and South West forests. We will expand some of the conservation estates to protect some of this state's most valuable natural assets, including, as I mentioned, rangelands, but also wetlands, marine areas, and scores of threatened flora and fauna that will have their habitats secured through this bill.
I think Hon Sue Ellery touched on this, and if I remember, because it has been a few weeks, Hon Darren West might have touched on this as well. This bill also provides a basis for a new era in working with the state's traditional owners in land management and creating more opportunities for nature-based cultural tourism. This is something that we as not only a state, but also a nation for a long, long time have very much underdone. We should never underestimate the value of the appeal to overseas visitors who come here and want a genuinely Australian experience. For most of them, a big part of that is the experience that can be provided through interactions and learning experiences with the traditional owners of the land. I have seen this firsthand and some time ago now, when my boy Patrick was just a baby. He is 22 now, so this would be about 20 years ago. I had friends visiting me from Belgium. We did a lot of things and I am going to talk about Queensland now, because that is where we ended up going—but the principle is the same. We went to the Daintree Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef and saw those sorts of things, but the one thing they wanted more than anything, which we found in northern Queensland, was an immersive experience with traditional owners. I was doing a lot of translating at the time for the storytelling, and they showed their connection to land along with bush tucker experiences and more mainstream things such as learning to throw a boomerang and that sort of thing.
It is about the music. It is about the cooking. All of this can be enhanced when we really go forward with programs that work with the state's traditional owners in land and reserves. As I said, from my experience, this is what the vast majority of overseas tourists want to see and experience.
In terms of the key statistics, we have spoken about the five million hectares of new national parks, marine parks and other conservation reserves right across the state over a five-year period. This represents a 20% increase in Western Australia's conservation estate. I do not have the number in front of me, but there were approximately 30 proposals for new parks and reserves. Since 2019, we have invested a total of $40 million in establishing these reserves under the Plan for Our Parks and a further $73 million for the implementation of joint management arrangements and the essential startup infrastructure that is needed.
I want to touch on the milestones. I was not going to, but I will read them in quickly. It is about not just the individual milestones and how they will work, but also the number of them. There have been 17 or 18 milestones over the last five years. The reason this is important is that, on average, something has happened every three months. That shows the amount of work that has been done since the Plan for Our Parks was first announced in February 2019. In March 2019, we saw immediate consultation with traditional owners, peak bodies, the resources sector, conservation groups, local government authorities, people who manage pastoral leases and a whole lot of other key stakeholders. In July that same year, the Houtman Abrolhos Islands National Park was created just west of Geraldton; in May, the conservation status of Beeliar Regional Park was enhanced; and, towards the end of that year, the Nyinggulu (Ningaloo) Coastal Reserves were created adjacent to the World Heritage–listed Ningaloo Marine Park. In January 2021, five new reserves were created on Badimia country near Mount Magnet, while in February, the following month, the first stage of the Helena and Aurora Ranges National Park, which is about 450 kilometres east of where we are at the moment, was completed. I will not keep reading all the milestones, but there was one from November–December 2021. This was not just a plan that we came up with and said, "Look, we're going to try and get this done"; it was a plan that we announced and some work has been done on it almost every month since.
Obviously, one thing we are looking at through this bill and other like legislation is the protection of native flora and fauna through the creation of new parks and reserves, especially with a mind to threatened species. It is no news to anyone that climate change is substantially increasing the pressure on the natural environment. The weather in this state is getting hotter and sea levels are rising. I was up at Lancelin a couple of weeks ago and the path that runs across the top of some high dunes was closed off. The path was still there, but it was basically the path and then a sheer drop. I saw a photo taken of that same place four or five years ago. If I had to guess, there was probably at that time a good 20 metres more land at that height before it dropped down to the water. Sea levels are rising and coastal erosion is a real thing. Rainfall patterns are obviously changing. This presents a constant challenge for the department and those managing Western Australia's parks and reserves. It also poses a threat to biodiversity and the habitats of local species. Once again, if we do not manage it, we might lose some of the tourism opportunities that I was speaking about before. The Plan for Our Parks builds on work that we did in the past and decades of relationships with traditional owners, including their approaches to government with their thoughts on what we can do and their aspirations.
I have the total in front of me now, and 29 proposals have been identified; I think I said "roughly 30" earlier. People are always looking for new parks and areas that can be turned into parkland as well. There are options for future national parks. Members of this place may well be aware that I spend a fair bit of my spare time up at Guilderton at the mouth of the Moore River. Guilderton is a great little spot that has a fantastic little community. I spend a lot of time at the Guilderton Country Club as well.
Hon Sue Ellery interjected.
Hon Dan Caddy: I do indeed. I have run into a few people from this place up there. It is a great place, with a caravan park and a small IGA. Anyway, I am digressing. What I am coming to is that there is a very strong group up there. I am not here to advocate on their behalf today, but that group is advocating for the area south of Moore River to become a future national park. As members may be aware, there are some larger lots to the east of Two Rocks and then there is a natural barrier where there is a park. It is certainly a reserve, but I am not sure if it is a national park. The group up there is really looking to use that as a southern border. Obviously, the beachfront would be the western border, Indian Ocean Drive would be the eastern border and Moore River would more or less make up the northern border. There are some small properties along the southern side of the river and a fantastic new brewery has opened up there; I had lunch there not long ago. Other than that, that area could become quite a large national park. The group, which I have met with on more than one occasion, has talked about creating a sort of Kings Park of the north. It certainly would be fantastic to do that. I do not profess to have the same knowledge as some of them, but this probably symbolises or is emblematic of what happens in a lot of smaller areas in the state, where groups of local residents look at the areas around them and say, "Wouldn't it be fantastic if we could do something in our local area and create fantastic parkland?" Without knowing the species that are there, I cannot really talk about that in much more detail, but it seems to me, on the surface, to be a good idea and something that could possibly be looked at in the future.
This is very much about protecting our environment for future generations as well. The expansion of the conservation estate in Western Australia will go a long way towards safeguarding the rich biodiversity that we have and securing habitats for our children and our children's children to enjoy. The restoration of some landscapes will also enhance vegetation and effectively repair areas that have been degraded over time.
I want to circle back to something I talked about before—that is, joint management with traditional owners—because I think it is a really important part of this. It is about not just having traditional owners as our management partners in this, but also providing transformative jobs, training and career development opportunities for Aboriginal people on their own land and across all areas of land management.
As I said, it will also allow the establishment of new First Nation tourism ventures and other enterprises on their land. I was going to talk about the Aboriginal ranger program but I will not, because that was covered quite eloquently by Hon Sue Ellery.
According to the best records I have—this is something that Hon Darren West touched on—we have well over 100 national parks. I have it at 112, but my figures might be a bit old. All but just a few of those national parks have official names, and their benefit cannot be understated. There is a multitude of benefits to the state including environmental, economic, social and cultural benefits, as well as environmental and biodiversity conservation benefits.
National parks are critical. As I said, they are crucial for safeguarding our unique flora and fauna, much of which is not found anywhere else in the world. They are essential habitats for numerous threatened species, ensuring their survival for future generations. Parks like the Fitzgerald River National Park, for example, are renowned for an amazing diversity of plant life. The parks also provide ecosystem protection, which is critical. These protected areas maintain the integrity of natural ecosystems, forests, wetlands, coastlines—even arid landscapes such as rangeland. They help to regulate natural processes such as water and nutrient cycles and pollination. Once again, the more of this we protect, the more steadying the overall effect, especially when it comes to mitigation of climate change. National parks play a key role. Healthy ecosystems within parks enhance resilience to climate change impacts and mitigate, if you like, against extreme weather events.
Water quality is also a critical issue. I do not know how many people have seen the graphic picture of the earth with a tiny little globe showing the water on the earth and then a minuscule globe showing the freshwater on the earth. Freshwater will be critical moving forward not just in Australia but around the world. Freshwater is the next oil, for want of a better term. People all over the world will seek to shore it up. Natural vegetation within national parks helps to filter water, reduce run-off, prevent soil erosion and, in some cases, areas that have been rehabilitated improve the water quality of the surrounding areas.
I refer to the economic benefits, and I spoke about this at the start. National parks are amazing tourist attractions, drawing both domestic and international tourists, which generates revenue for the states through not just park fees, but also accommodation, tours and related services, supporting local economies and creating local jobs, particularly in regional areas. Iconic parks such as Karijini and Kalbarri National Parks are major drawcards. I would be surprised if there is anyone in this chamber who has not been to either Karijini or Kalbarri or indeed both national parks.
Another benefit is regional development. The presence of national parks can stimulate investment in infrastructure and services in nearby towns and, once again, this leads to boosting regional economies, regional job bases and nature-based recreation. Parks provide opportunities for a wide range of recreational activities such as hiking, camping, bird watching, photography and canoeing. The list goes on. All this contributes to the wellbeing of residents and visitors. I think it is fair to say that most of us who live in the city benefit from getting out of the city, into the wilderness and into parkland. I will talk a bit more about that in a minute.
The social and cultural benefits that flow from our national parks are often understated or forgotten. This relates to the issue of recreation and wellbeing that I was starting to touch on. Access to national parks offers an opportunity for physical activity and also relaxation and mental rejuvenation. People who recreate in these areas see an increase in their overall health and wellbeing. Hon Dr Brian Walker may be interested in this or know more about it, but programs in other countries involve doctors actually prescribing their patients to get out of the city, visit parkland and nature areas—I will not call them national parks because not every country uses that term—purely because of the health benefits. They advise their patients to do this in lieu of medication, which I find just fascinating.
I have spoken about the cultural heritage aspect. National parks help to protect important sites, stories and connections to land and offer opportunities for cultural awareness and immersion experiences. All this is achieved through joint management opportunities with Aboriginal communities. Education and research has been ongoing for a long time, but national parks serve as a living laboratory for scientific research and environmental education and help to enhance our understanding of natural processes and the importance of conservation.
The last benefit is a sense of place. Our national parks contribute to not only our national but also our state identity—Western Australia’s unique identity and sense of place. Our national parks span the width and breadth of this state. I am not sure which park is northernmost, I think it is the Mitchell River National Park in the Kimberley region, but I think that the Prince Regent National Park probably pips it for having the northernmost point. While we are in the Kimberley, the area represented by my very good friend Divina D'Anna, the Purnululu National Park, is certainly one of the most spectacular, being the home of the Bungle Bungle Range, or the Bungle Bungles, as they are sometimes called. A national park that I am far more familiar with, not least because it shares the name of a winery that produces the best muscat I think I have ever tasted, is the West Cape Howe National Park—thank you, Hon Samantha Rowe—which contains the southmost point of mainland Western Australia.
While I am in the Great Southern, I will turn to something Hon Darren West said. Many of my early formative years were spent on the edge of the Stirling Range National Park. Our farm was one back from the park. Hon Darren West talked about the clearing of farmland and how we need to do that better. Where we were, as I said, there was one farm between us, so the ranges used to appear in stark blue. I have a fantastic, beautiful photo of it. My only reservation is that the photo was taken from the other side of the ranges—it was taken from the north side and our farm was on the south side—but I saw that photo one day in a shop; I had to buy it, and I did. In truth, I intended to buy it as a present for my maternal grandfather, and I never got around to giving it to him. I have had it for many years. He lived until his late 90s, so I do not really have any excuse! He did his bit; I just did not get the photo to him in time. But I talk about him and go back to what Hon Darren West was saying. When that land came to him post–the war years, land was given to people in a more or less rectangular format, and a lot of people just cleared the land. My grandfather was a forward thinker, and—I am taking a guess here—I reckon he probably left 30% of the farmland as it was. Obviously, that means that the farmer is not cropping as much and cannot run the same number of head of sheep on that land, but as with preserving the vegetation in our national parks and our reserves, when we had salinity and erosion problems down there, it hit everywhere, and it hit our farm as well, but it certainly did not hit us as hard as it hit some others.
I want to also talk about the Goldfields Woodlands National Park. This national park either takes in or is found right at the end of the Holland Track. More importantly, the Holland Track cuts through Jilbadji Nature Reserve. I bring this up because the Holland Track is one of my favourite parts of Western Australia. This goes to the whole thing about peace of mind and getting out there and doing something.
Yes, there is the Gunbarrel Highway, so named because of the intent of its creators, but the Holland Track truly has everything. The history of the track very much ties in with the history and the natural history of Western Australia. For those who do not know, the track has a fantastic story rooted in the gold rush era. It was born out of what I would call the eternal human need to find a shortcut. Essentially, in its earliest form, it was a diagonal line, almost a straight line, from Albany to Kalgoorlie or Coolgardie and the goldfields. Significant gold discoveries meant that people just wanted to get there and they wanted to get there quickly. Obviously, Albany was one of the key ports in Western Australia. The existing route from Albany to the goldfields basically brought people up almost to Perth and then out that way.
John Holland was a bushman. He recognised the need for a direct route, and off he went. Basically, he thought he could cut a track through unexplored bushland in, as I said, a straight line from Albany all the way through to Kalgoorlie. Indeed, he basically achieved that. They got a few ponies, and off they went. In just over two months, they had basically made their way from Albany to Coolgardie. Their timing was impeccable; they arrived in Coolgardie the day after Paddy Hannan's famous gold discovery, and it was on. Unfortunately, very quickly after that there was a much quicker link out there—I think it was a rail link—and the track went away. Before that time, it provided a pretty impressive artery; it cuts right through, like I said, nature reserves and some of our national parks. It is estimated that up to 20,000 people used the track in the three years before the railway line eventually made it redundant.
Interestingly, the southern part of the track has basically made way for major roads and bits of highway here, there and everywhere. That started when farming took off there in the 1920s. But the northern part of the track still exists. If you drive from Perth out to Hyden and then drive south for a little bit, you will get to the start of the track, running between farms. After that section, it is an absolutely spectacular drive. You need to pick the time of the year and make sure you have the right vehicle to do it in, especially if you are towing something. I towed a camper trailer through there, but I made sure I was in a Land Cruiser, so nothing was going to stop me. There are sites of significant heritage along the way and you go through reserves as well. You really get to see the changing landscape. It starts, as I said, on sand tracks and goes around lakes. There are some nice little campsites. You do not get too far in a day; it is about a three-day or four-day trip if you want to do it properly. On the second day, you end up in low bushland that is just completely different. The colour of the dirt is completely different. It is a completely different side of Western Australia, and it basically changes each day. As long as you take your time—I have a golden rule when I am out in four-wheel drive territory; that is, you keep going until three o'clock, and as soon as it hits three o'clock, you find somewhere to camp. If you come across something at five past three, that is great, but sometimes it might be quarter to five before you find somewhere. I do not know where that rule comes from; it is probably something my father passed down to me. He has been out in the bush far more than I ever have, but hopefully not more than I ever will, because one day when I am not in this place, I intend to do a lot more of it. Anyway, the remaining section of 300 kilometres is absolutely spectacular; it goes through nature reserves and a national park as well.
When I read about doctors in other parts of the world talking about people needing to get out of cities, and needing to do this and needing to do that, I reflect on the times I have been there or in other places and I understand it; I see it. It is intuitively correct and obviously intuitively accurate.
Moving on from that and the red dirt, I will reflect from personal experience on the need to maintain our natural parks and natural environments for generations moving forward. I think about when I was a young child in the late 1970s and very early 80s and the camping trips we used to take down on the Collie River, near Wellington Dam.
Hon Sue Ellery interjected.
Hon Dan Caddy: Yes. Later.
Now it is not like it was then, because we did not have the population then, but it is still somewhere where families would go. Back in the day, we would simply drive down a gravel road. Like I said, I was six or seven. We would drive down a gravel road until the old man said, "Here is a place to stop." We would be in the national park, and we would basically camp wherever we wanted. I realise it is a lot more structured these days. But I reflect on that time and think: Wow, imagine if we had that now? I think one of the most important parts of what we are doing here is to create and keep further areas for the future so that in 20 years time my kids are not reflecting on how it was because there is absolutely nothing left.
The future reservation of natural areas in our state is absolutely critical, and not just for the reasons I outlined earlier—biodiversity conservation, preservation of ecosystems, climate change mitigation, water quality and even the economic benefits around tourism and regional development and nature-based recreation. As we grow, and we know the population is growing at a record rate, the pressures on our natural reserves and national parks will grow accordingly, and that sort of gets me back to what I was talking to a minute ago. The earlier we as a state take decisions to preserve and conserve areas in our state, the better it will be for this state and especially for future generations in this state. This bill makes me feel incredibly proud to be part of the Cook Labor government. We are not just delivering now, in the current day, for the people of Western Australia; we are also looking out for future generations to come. Obviously, in this brief contribution, I have looked at only the terrestrial parks that we will make, but I want to make mention of the, I think, about 17 marine parks as well, like Ningaloo, which I mentioned in passing earlier. Also, I think it is important to give a shout-out to the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions staff. They manage human interaction with environmental areas. It is delicate and not everybody respects it in the way they should, and that is the actual key.
I will take a seat now, but as I said, I am very happy to be a part of a government that is looking out for future generations to come. I commend the bill to the house.
Hon Matthew Swinbourn (East Metropolitan Region—Minister for the Environment) (4:08 pm) in reply: Thank you, Acting President. I thank all members for their contributions. I would like to thank Hon Dr Steve Thomas for his contribution and for expressing the support of the opposition alliance for the bill. The member raised a number of issues in his contribution to the second reading debate. Hopefully, I will be able to address them to the member's satisfaction so that we might avoid the need to go into Committee of the Whole. But if we have to, we will. I would like to thank all my colleagues on this side of the chamber, Hon Shelley Payne, Hon Sandra Carr, Hon Darren West, Hon Pierre Yang, Hon Sue Ellery and Honourable Dan Caddy, for their contributions and their impassioned support for our conservation estate and our connection and, as they explained, their connection to our wonderful environment in this state.
It reflects the government's passion to protect our state's unique environment. As we know, this bill will fix a number of historical inconsistencies in the on-the-ground management of a range of class A and other conservation reserves. Although the bill itself is mainly administrative, the changes proposed require parliamentary scrutiny, as there will be modest impacts on reserves, which are afforded the highest level of protection under the Land Administration Act. I thank members for their time in considering the bill. In a number of cases, these changes will result in certainty for regional local governments to deliver important community services. Of particular importance for my portfolio is the creation of the Wandering Conservation Park, which will add a further 3,200 hectares of jarrah and wandoo forest to our state's conservation estate.
Hon Dr Steve Thomas has raised a few matters that I will seek to address now. The member asked whether the bill was cojoined between the lands and environment portfolios and, if so, whether this will become a standard procedure going forward. It is worth noting that I have carriage of the bill, obviously, in the Council. It is an environment bill and the Minister for Planning and Lands will carry the bill in the other place because it is also, in effect, a lands bill as well. The bill was developed in close collaboration between the two portfolios. That is not a new practice when it comes to these kinds of bills. In answer to the member’s question, it is already standard procedure and is likely to be the procedure going forward if a further reserve bill were to come in at a later time.
Hon Dr Steve Thomas: It gets a little confusing as to which minister is coming forward. I’m sure we’ll manage it in the fullness of time, but it's just the lack of consistency, I guess, was my question, and I think you've answered it.
Hon Matthew Swinbourn: Yes. I think the point would be that two other recent bills similarly included this approach, which was the Reserves Bill 2023, which became the Reserves Act 2023, and the—Hon Rosie Sahanna is going to laugh at me again—Reserves (Tjuntjuntjara Community) Act. I told you. As predicted, she laughed at me! This collaboration is important because the reserves are created and amended under the provisions of the Land Administration Act 1997, which is the responsibility of the Minister for Planning and Lands. In practice, most of these are managed under the auspices of the Conservation and Land Management Act 1984, which obviously falls under my portfolio of environment.
This bill provides for the good housekeeping of our state's land estate and, in some cases, provides certainty for regional local governments to deliver community services. Although a somewhat eclectic mix of unrelated matters is included, dealing with a range of modest land changes in one bill limits the impost on Parliament and the associated cost to the WA taxpayer.
In relation to isolated reserves, and noting that the offset is outside the bill, the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions seeks to minimise the loss of land to the conservation estate by identifying other areas that may be added. Three distinct reserves would have comprised the new Wandering Conservation Park under the 2004 act. Only one of those, timber reserve 160/25, is to be made a class A conservation park under this bill. The inclusion of the remaining two areas is not proposed at this time, but the redescriptions contained within clauses 6 and 7 will facilitate the initial creation of the new park and potentially the inclusion of the additional areas if that is agreed to at a later date. The nature of these blocks are as a result of consultation with local community and industry. When the member made his contribution some weeks ago, he referred to timber harvesting. I suspect the member is about to make a much greater contribution when we get to the next bill. I think it would be best to leave any discussion of that until we are on that bill. This bill does not deal with timber harvesting and so I think it is best addressed in the other debate.
I think the member raised some points on unrelated land changes in clause 11. As has been mentioned, the land changes in the bill will address some of the historic and ad hoc inconsistencies in the on-ground management of areas of the conservation estate and what is on the books. Clause 11 sets the record straight. To ensure efficiency, that has been presented to Parliament as one bill rather than many much smaller bills.
The member raised some points about Woodman Point and the Canning River Regional Park, particularly why we are shifting the onus onto the two local governments that have responsibility for that area. The Canning and Wooden Point land changes will fix the on-ground management of these areas to be excised to reflect current on-the-ground practises. The infrastructure at Woodman Point is already in place. This is a good example of tidying up the Crown estate to reflect on-ground practises. Canning is fixing a vesting area. The area will remain part of the Canning River Regional Park and within local government management. These changes have been requested by local governments, so we are not imposing this on them; this is what they have asked for.
Hon Dr Steve Thomas interjected.
Hon Matthew Swinbourn: Yes. As I say, the member addressed whether or not it would be onerous on them in any way. Our position is that it will not because they are already doing the work and this is something that they have asked for. Certainly we are not putting this upon them against their will—God forbid!
The member made some points to make about—I never get this right—Torndirrup National Park. I think it was because of the eclectic nature of the provisions. I am told that the classification and purpose will align, allowing for later amalgamation of these reserves into one reserve outside of the bill and then DBCA can manage that national park with consistently applied management objectives. I also understand, not being from the south like the member, that it is one of the most visited parks in the Great Southern, so I think we will continue to support that.
The member also raised the change in classification by the Shire of Kent to reserves 25696 and 25697 from conservation of flora and fauna to conservation of landscape.
Hon Dr Steve Thomas: What is the difference between the classifications?
Hon Matthew Swinbourn: The change in purpose was initiated by DBCA. The conservation value of the reserve has been compromised over time due to grazing and clearing. There are no known populations of threatened or priority flora and fauna on the reserve. As such, the view of DBCA is that the purpose of conserving flora and fauna is no longer warranted. The purpose of landscape protection better reflects the management of the reserves. That is the reason. It is about moving away from the focus specifically on the conservation of flora and fauna to the more general conservation of landscape.
Hon Dr Steve Thomas: I might ask you behind the Chair about the Pilbara, too. Landscape protection is a fairly vague term and could mean anything, but we will discuss that.
Hon Matthew Swinbourn: Yes. I am happy to talk to the member about that behind the Chair. I think that largely deals with the specific questions the member raised during the course of the debate. He raised a number of other more general points, which, again, probably do not come strictly within the four walls of this bill and will probably be picked up in some of the other debates. With those comments, I commend the bill to the house.
Question put and passed.
Bill read a second time.
Leave granted to proceed forthwith to third reading.
Third reading
Hon Matthew Swinbourn (East Metropolitan Region—Minister for the Environment) (4:17 pm): I move:
That the bill be read a third time.
Hon Dr Steve Thomas (South West Region) (4:17 pm): I will be very brief. Thanks, minister. I appreciate that the minister has given answers in his second reading reply to the Reserves Bill 2025. We could have asked a couple of more specific questions, but the reality is that the opposition supports the bill. These are generally changes that I suspect whoever was in government would be convinced by the various departments to proceed with. They are not particularly onerous. I will simply make the point that sometimes we have to be not completely ideological about the zoning of a particular piece of land. Practicality has to eventually work out, which will sometimes mean putting more land into the national estate—the state reservation system—and sometimes small amounts might be taken out. I think this is a good example of that. In a bipartisan manner, I thank members for their contributions. I think we should just proceed.
Question put and passed.
Bill read a third time and transmitted to the Assembly.
